I am planning a new 160G tank which will plumb down to the basement where the sump, water change, and top off will happen. My current setup has the sump with skimmer underneath the stand. If there are any suggestions from those that have plumbed down to another floor I would greatly appreciate it. Anything that will.keep me from mistakes or make maintenance easier in the future would be a big help.
plumbing down to basement
- Thread starter Pauper
- Start date
coralnut99
New member
I think you'll have better luck in the DIY forum with this.
SWSaltwater
New member
Just remember to calculate head pressure when choosing a pump, the rest is all the same pretty much only with more room.
mgranato
New member
basement sump
basement sump
My basement plumbed reef is turning a year old this month. The main points of advice would be to elevate the the sump (put it on a platform) to roughly hip or chest height, it makes maintenance a lot easier. I would also suggest using a good amount of LR and plumb for a closed loop with something like an Oceansmotions. A closed loop will save you from having to move thousands of gallons of water per hour up and down your overflows. That's just extra noise that can be eliminated from the equation. Get a return pump large enough to feed your equipment and handle the head preasure and let the closed loop handle the circulation. I've got serveral pics of my setup if you think they may help.
basement sump
My basement plumbed reef is turning a year old this month. The main points of advice would be to elevate the the sump (put it on a platform) to roughly hip or chest height, it makes maintenance a lot easier. I would also suggest using a good amount of LR and plumb for a closed loop with something like an Oceansmotions. A closed loop will save you from having to move thousands of gallons of water per hour up and down your overflows. That's just extra noise that can be eliminated from the equation. Get a return pump large enough to feed your equipment and handle the head preasure and let the closed loop handle the circulation. I've got serveral pics of my setup if you think they may help.
Mgranato: Just curious, would you put the CL pump in the basement or right under the display?
I recommend at least two 20 amp circuits for the project, one on top on a circulation system and another in the basement for the rest of the equipment.
RDP in the basement on a fuge for sure, for PH stability. And I'd also put in a remote sandbed, and have my return(s) feed into it as well as a fuge, before it goes into a sump with skimmer(s), etc. That way you could have two returns from those aux tanks into an area of the sump after filtration so that pods make their way up into the display. The DSB would be higher flow than the fuge, on gate valves.
Good luck.
I recommend at least two 20 amp circuits for the project, one on top on a circulation system and another in the basement for the rest of the equipment.
RDP in the basement on a fuge for sure, for PH stability. And I'd also put in a remote sandbed, and have my return(s) feed into it as well as a fuge, before it goes into a sump with skimmer(s), etc. That way you could have two returns from those aux tanks into an area of the sump after filtration so that pods make their way up into the display. The DSB would be higher flow than the fuge, on gate valves.
Good luck.
stan zemanek
New member
heres a pic of my basement sump room, return is a md70 back up to an AGA 150
mgranato
New member
Pauper, you're getting some great advice. I could not agree more with the RDP suggestion and the warning against using check valves. My PH never dips below 8.33 and there are plenty of check valve horror stories out there to persuade anyone from using them.
Reefbuzz, either will certainly work. I have kitchen cabinetry under my display, so putting the pump under was not an option. I had to actually place a Mag 24 in one of my overflow towers, its connected to an OM super squirt. I didn't get the bright idea for a CL until things were up and running (no access to the rear of the tank). My preference would certainly be to have the pump in the basement with the rest of the equipment.
Reefbuzz, either will certainly work. I have kitchen cabinetry under my display, so putting the pump under was not an option. I had to actually place a Mag 24 in one of my overflow towers, its connected to an OM super squirt. I didn't get the bright idea for a CL until things were up and running (no access to the rear of the tank). My preference would certainly be to have the pump in the basement with the rest of the equipment.
Thanks everyone for all the advice and pictures. I should be getting the tank in 2 weeks and starting work on it.
Mgranato, would you happen to have a picture of your plumbing underneath the tank showing the overflows and returns?
I won't be using any check valves since I do always worry about them failing and actually had a very bad accident with one of those clear check valves cracking on me and flooding my 1st floor and down into my computer room underneath. Amazingly, the salt water did not destroy my server and AV gear, but I'm not looking forward to testing my luck.
Does anyone have an automatic water change system with their setup? I was thinking about using my Litermeter III to do very gradual water changes but was also considering Calfo's method of having a hole drilled higher up in my sump and then just overflowing enough water to drain it out.
Mgranato, would you happen to have a picture of your plumbing underneath the tank showing the overflows and returns?
I won't be using any check valves since I do always worry about them failing and actually had a very bad accident with one of those clear check valves cracking on me and flooding my 1st floor and down into my computer room underneath. Amazingly, the salt water did not destroy my server and AV gear, but I'm not looking forward to testing my luck.
Does anyone have an automatic water change system with their setup? I was thinking about using my Litermeter III to do very gradual water changes but was also considering Calfo's method of having a hole drilled higher up in my sump and then just overflowing enough water to drain it out.
mgranato
New member
I've got shelves and drawers under my tank so there really isn't anything to see other than straight drops of PVC. I'm using four 1.5" pipes for my drains (durso style) and one 1.5" pipe for return. Have two 8"x13" overflow towers on each corner with bulkheads in the bottoms of each. My tank and sump was DIY out of acrylic so I had to fortune of being able to drill holes anywhere I thought they may be needed. Some good advice that I did pick up through other posts was to over estimate the amount of pipe for drainage, hence the 4x1.5" PVC. I could have probably made it with 2 or 3 but that extra drain or two is worth the added security. I'm using an Iwaki 100 for my return pump, but I'm using a 1.5" pipe for return rather than the 1" pipe thats on the outlet. I've read in several places that when pumping up that amount of head you can minimize loss by increasing volume with a larger size pipe.
brent waldron
New member
hey pauper, there is a current thread in the lighting, filtration ect section where there is some good feedback on automatic water transfers..... (some feedback also on the litermeter) I'll see if I can find it again. also am contemplating this and have heard of the calfo method but wasn't sure how to set it up???? how would you overflow your sump reliably, and your hole would have to be fairly high in your sump because of power outages....... any insight!!! thanks
I am not absolutely sure but it seems that new saltwater when pumped into your display tank is heavier and displaces old water than will go into your overflow. So if your sump has a drain hole, when you add new saltwater, the level rises enough to drain water out. Although your salinity will tend to move up as you evap the extra water once you're done changing, you should be taking it into account from trial and error to set the correct salinity for the water you are adding. I am thinking more along the lines of the litermeter since that's gradual.
brent waldron
New member
hey, thanks for the insight!!!!
